Nueva Familia

We've had some new family members as of late.

Here's Little Roman Maverick.

Otherwise known as "baby" because no one knows what to call him without taking sides.

Here's Chance holding "baby".

I think a combination of the two names would work, like Romav or Mavro.

Here's Claire next to "baby".

Notice how ginormous my baby is?

Here is Nick's fiancee as of Monday, Lisa.

Isn't she beautiful?

We are ecstatic she's agreed to join the Foohlar clan.

And of course, not-so-little Evan.

Who is adorable. We can't wait to meet him.

As we anticipate the last(for now) new member this December, let's reminisce to a few years back when my dearest was the first to join the outlaw club.

I'd post a picture of it but digital cameras weren't invented yet.

It was 11 years ago.

Rewind

I'm having speaker's remorse.

You know, when you spend hours preparing a talk or lesson or oration of any kind, when you put together cutesy handouts with raffia and magnets, and when you feel confident enough in what you are going to say that you feel like you could probably talk forever.

Only you get pukey nervous a few hours before and second-guess everything you want to say and how you're going to say it and you forget the order you were going to say it in and suddenly all of your thoughts get jumbled into one big pot of alphabet soup and all you really want to do is hide under your bed until the whole thing is over.

Then it's time to go give your presentation and you start talking, your face beet red and your bra wet from sweat, and you're sure that whatever you've saying makes no sense at all and you really want to go hide under your bed now. And then they make you do it again 2 more times, because somebody thought it would be a good idea to split into 3 groups. Again with the face and the sweat.

And after the whole thing is over all you can think about is, what the cr*p happened?

Because you know how well you prepared and you know how awesome it was going to be and how all the people were going to ooooh and ahhhh over what a great lesson you just gave and how everyone was going to be inspired to go home and try out all your wonderful ideas. Instead, you are wishing you could go back in time and do it again the right way.

Only not really.

****************

On a side note, but kinda the same topic:

One parenting strategy that I've learned over the course of a few weeks was the 1:7 ratio. It means that for every 1 negative communication you have with your child, you need 7 positive. Now communication can be verbal, as in praise or thanks, or non-verbal, as in a smile, hug, even a thought. This is hard to do. Because I, and I'm betting many parents, spend a lot of time telling our children what to do, or correcting their mistakes, or even just not listening intently when they talk to us. It takes a lot of effort to come up with so many positives. But after a while, it's not as hard. And suddenly you realize that your child is behaving better because of all the positive reinforcement he's getting. And you are also noticing all the good things that he's been doing all along, because you're looking for ways to give him his 7. I'm telling you, it works like magic. I've tried it. I can vouch. And it is a strategy that's in almost every parenting book I own. 1:7. Give it a try.

Tuesday

Tell me how it is that my sister in law who just had a baby but 2 weeks ago can post and I can't? How is that? I really want to know.

I had a great lunch today with good friends of mine and it was divine. Do you want to have a great lunch? Here's what you need:

• Fantastic friends who laugh about, hmmm, I can't remember, but it was funny, trust me.
• Delicious food that you don't have to drive 30 minutes to get to and that tastes superb, especially when slathered in mango salsa
• A baby who sits quietly for 1 1/2 hours eating cheerios and goldfish (I don't ask why, I only thank the big HF)
• 3 large refills of Diet Dr. Pepper, because they have it on tap

And just for fun, I foolishly agreed to teach a class on Positive Parenting at Enrichment on Thursday. Why? I have no idea. Do you have any great parenting tips of the positive-variety that I could use? Or perhaps a handout? Or an outline of a class you've already given? Or maybe you just want to come teach it for me? Pretty please? No? This is what I get I guess. I see you laughing mom, I know what you're thinking. Something about "just desserts" and me getting "mine". What I really need right now is a time machine so I could go back and say "no, I don't think I'm going to be able to make that Enrichment, I'm busy that night fleeing the country." Thank goodness I own about 15 parenting books that I can glean from. Why 15? Because if anybody needs to learn how to parent positively, it's me.

Look what happened last week...

Do you see this adorable little girl?

This was the day she started walking.

September 12th.

10 months 20 days old.

Too soon.

See how she stands, arms stretched out?

She has gained some balance and lots of confidence.

Of course she still falls after a few steps.

But now we are up to 5.

I really wanted to post the video, but I'm blogilliterate when it comes to posting video. If I ever figure it out, I'll show you.

She gets so excited as we cheer for her, the children reveling in her

victory against gravity.

Lost

Missing:

1 cheetah print lunchbox, 1 month old

Last seen at lunchtime in the lunchroom with all the other lunchboxes

Goes missing often, weekly in fact, sometimes daily

In good condition, perhaps a bit sticky on the inside

Usually hanging in the lost & found

Missed dearly, because in the meantime, this lunchbox is being used

Notice how uncute it is?

Please call if you have any information.

Reward-Hostess snack cakes for a week

Spaghetti with Meatballs

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show you all of this carnage.

This is our first can of Chef Boyardee products.

See the fluorescent red sauce?

What do you suppose makes it that color?

Do you know that when you slurp noodles, sauce flips up into your nose and all over your chin?

He really likes this stuff. He demands more. Sorry son, it's not a very big can.

What do you suppose are in the meatballs they use? I can't figure it out. It must be some kind of meat, right?

Yes, she likes it too.

What kind of mother feeds their children pasteurized processed meat product with artificially colored sauce and mystery mushy noodles for lunch?

One who doesn't mind doing laundry after.

Lake Happenings

We were invited to the lake this Labor Day by my brother Rich and his lovely wife Erin. Her family has all the fun things to do at the lake, like

jet ski.

My children, or at least the two eldest, love to be taken out on the jet skis. They love to go really fast and jump over wakes. I don't watch as it makes my stomach churn. But the professor and my brothers oblige and take turns taking the chitlins out. I like when they ride the red jet ski, as it's bigger and more stable and less fast. The children like to ride the blue jet ski because it's the fastest thing in the water. It makes me cringe thinking about it.

Did I mention that Cannon hates the jet skis? The prof tried to take him out and we could hear the screams all over the lake. No kidding, he was screaming. He was going maybe 10mph, but the screaming continued. He's not afraid of being in the lake, because he'll get out there and swim. He's just too cautious to handle being hurtled 50mph over the water with nothing holding him down. I understand completely. And I thank him for it, as it causes me far less stress.

Did I mention that they like to swim in the lake? We take the pontoon boat out to the middle where it's super deep and the kids take turns jumping off the top into the water below. Again, stomach churning. Thank goodness for life vests, because I know they'll always bob back up. How do they do it? I have a hard time just being in the water waiting for my turn to wake board. I like being in the boat so much better. Did I mention that I can wake board? Because I can. I just learned. And my body is hating me for it. Do you know how bad it hurts when you fall down while trying to wake board? Not as worse as it hurts the next day. Believe me.
Here's me and the littlest munchkin. She wore that life vest all day. It was completely uncomfortable for me to try to hold her in it, as she tripled in girth. And she struggled to get out of it a few times. Then she would just give up and fall asleep to the rocking of the boat. Thank goodness.
This is Chance's friend Gavin. Gavin is amazing. He can do everything. On his sixth turn trying to waterski, he got up and stayed up. For a long time. Did I mention that he's 9? And that he's never tried waterskiing before? We pulled him around the lake forever. Chance tried too, and he even got up but he had a hard time staying up. Next year he'll get it, I know.
See this little person? That's Emme. She got up too. She's amazing. That's my brother Rich in the water. He was helping the kids try to figure out waterskiing. He's a good guy, even if he insists on naming his son Maverick. Anyways, right after this shot, Emme feel face first. She didn't want any more turns after that. I understand Em, falling face first into the water hurts.

In fact, everytime we come home from the lake we hurt. Cuts and scrapes and arms pulled out of sockets and headaches and loss of grip in our hands and sunburned eyes and dehydration and sore neck muscles are just a few of the maladies we endure. But the Barros pizza and wings we eat afterwards is worth it. Even though we all know I don't need any excuse to eat Barros.

What does 19 miles look like?

This is the water I drink all day long the day before the big run. Why? Because if you start out long miles already a little dehydrated, you're in for a BAD run. Really bad. Trust me on this, especially if you live in the desert like me. You'll never make it. Hey, even if you're not running you should drink lots of water. Or Diet Dr. Pepper, whichever you prefer.
This is my knee. It is under wraps. Why you ask? Because it likes to pop out every once in a while. So the night before a long one, I ice it. And I take 4 ibuprofen. Just in case.
This is the time I should go to bed. In reality, it is only the time my baby goes down. My bedtime is closer to 9:30PM. With the alarm set for 3:15AM. Is it any wonder I take naps?

Do you know how many mosquitoes are up and hungry in the early morning hours? Lots. Lots and lots. They start with the monsoons and die by October. Until then, we cover up. Do you know how bad this stuff smells? Do you know that when you sweat, the stuff wears off and the mosquitoes take that as an opportunity to attack? Because it does and they do.
Yes, this is in the AM hour. Can you believe that I am awake at that time? Because I cannot fathom it. I don't like to think about it.
These are the shoes. I have about 8 pairs of these shoes, 7 of which are retired. When you find a good running shoe, you stick by it. You revere it. Because it means that you can continue to run injury-free. Don't think for a minute that a shoe purchase is unimportant. It is the most significant part of running. It will make or break your career. Notice how they aren't cute? I had a hard time with that at first. Because everyone knows a girl wants cute running shoes. But cute running shoes will only cause you pain. Lesson learned.
Can you believe I have to carry all this with me?

I hope not, because I don't. I do the drop off. I have one water bottle on my person at all times and I drop off some at one spot and the rest at another. We then circle around those spots for all 19 miles. Is it an exciting route? No. But there's water every mile. Do you know that I will drink almost every drop of that water? Because I will.

This is our little crew. I'm the one with the hat. Can you believe we smile at 3:45 AM? I'm pretty sure it's because we are delirious. The girl in the middle is the Relief Society President, otherwise known as my Running Buddy. I knew her before she became President of the Relief Society, and before she was President of the Young Women and before her husband was Bishopric Counselor. I knew her just as Running Buddy. It's hard for me to take her seriously. But I have to try, seeing as how I'm her ever loyal Secretary and she'll put me in charge of something horribly awful if I don't at least pretend. Plus she always scares all the stray dogs away for me. I do not like stray dogs, ask anyone.

The other girl is the Relief Society President's sister. We like her a lot. She's always smiling like that. Even at 3:45 in the AM. Did I mention that we are up at the 3 o'clock hour?

So I won't show you pictures of the Glide or where I put it because that would turn this into another kind of site entirely. But it keeps the chaffing down and we all know there is nothing worse than coming home, peeling off sweat soaked clothes and stepping in the shower only to be hit by the intense pain of the salt that now covers your body being showered down along your chaffed nether regions. Nothing worse. Oh the pain.

I also won't show you pictures of what we look like after. Because it isn't pretty. And I won't tell you how long it takes us, because that isn't pretty either. Let's leave it to say that come marathon time in approximately 5 weeks, I hope to run a 4:20.

Why oh Why do I put myself through this?

I really don't know.